The Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints come into Sunday's game with their season on life support. So yes, the loser of this game will, in my opinion, officially see their season come to an end. I don't care if you call former Saints head coach Jim Mora to let him know I said this. The facts are the facts. Who out there really believes a team at 1-4 or 1-5 will claw their way back to win the NFC South or claim a NFC Wildcard spot?

Ok, I think I've started this thing pretty angry. Let me just take a deep breath and actually talk about this must-win showdown.

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I say, "must-win," because the Saints have a very tough second quarter schedule with games against the Panthers, Chiefs, Seahawks and 49ers.

They get two of those games in the Superdome (Panthers and Seahawks), but nothing is guaranteed at home anymore, losing 11 of their last 15 games. We are talking about a franchise that once ran teams out of the building. So far this season, the Saints are 0-2 at home.

The Saints haven't had much success against the Panthers of late, losing three straight to the three-time reigning NFC South champions.

The Panthers certainly don't look like the team that went 15-1 from a season ago and made a trip to the Super Bowl. Yes, they've played a tough schedule to start the season, facing the likes of the Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings and Atlanta Falcons, but they haven't looked good in any of those games. In fact, they lost all three of those games. Plus they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home on Monday Night Football. Tampa Bay is a team they should beat at home even without Cam Newton.

Speaking of Newton, he has really struggled this season. However, he has been beat up and suffered a concussion against the Falcons. Newton returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis, and barring a setback, he will be cleared to play against the Saints. Now with that being said, outside of his four touchdown performance against the San Francisco 49ers, Newton hasn't been able to really get it going this season. It doesn't help when his offensive line is doing a poor job blocking for him, allowing him to get sacked 13 times this season. He was sacked eight times against the Vikings.

This will be a chance for Newton to get back on track against a team he's had success against in the last three games, throwing for 872 yards, 10 touchdowns and 1 interception. I would say that's some pretty good numbers. Also, in two of those three wins, Newton threw for over 300 yards, including last season's game in the Superdome when he had 331 yards and five touchdowns in a Panthers 41-38 win.

I just think the Saints are probably tired of hearing about Newton's success against them and will try to put an end to it in this game. I would watch out for Saints linebacker Craig Robertson in this game. He could draw the assignment of keeping a close eye on Newton. He has been very clutch for the Saints this season on defense. Hell, outside of Drew Brees, you could easily make an argument for Robertson as the team's MVP.

I believe with a win under their belt before their bye week, that Saints defense built up some confidence. Now, it's just trying to build off that Chargers performance moving forward with this game. If they can force three turnovers, like they did against San Diego, then they will flat out win. Also, some of the Panthers struggles on offense has to do with them struggling to run the ball. If the Saints can continue to make Carolina one-dimensional, then it will be a long day for Newton and company.

Also life without cornerback Josh Norman has been tough. It was obvious in their loss to the Falcons, when Matt Ryan threw for over 500 yards. They had a hard time stopping Julio Jones, who went off for 300 yards. Plus Bucs quarterback Jamies Winston marched his team down the field with ease to set up the game-winning field goal Monday night. So I can only imagine what Brees could do against the Panthers' secondary. Now that he has tight end Coby Fleener a little more involved, that could only make things more difficult for opposing teams. It's only going to get better for the Saints' offense when tight end Josh Hill finally returns to the lineup. He has been limited at practice. Some people just don't understand how important he is to this offense. Hill opens up plays for others around him, especially receiver Brandin Cooks.

Brees will continue doing what he usually does if his offensive line can keep him upright. Surprisingly, the offensive line has done a very good job this season, allowing Brees to get sacked seven times, which ranks near the top in the NFL. I honestly didn't think they would be that good, but I've been proved wrong through four games. Also, you're seeing them do a good job run blocking for Mark Ingram, Tim Hightower, Daniel Lasco and John Kuhn. The Panthers have shown struggles in containing the run this year, and when the running game gets going for the Saints, then that certainly makes life much easier for number nine.

So, the Saints come into this game 5-5 coming off a bye week since 2006. They are going to need to do some things that they've struggled to do against the Panthers of late. The main keys for me are keeping the pressure on Newton, avoid busted coverages and block for Brees and the running game. Do all those things, then they will win their first home game and division game of the season. I may be crazy with this pick, but I just think the Saints are due for a big win.